Xavier Murdy scored eight points and was a relentless beast on the boards Thursday for the CMS 7th graders. (John Fisken photos)
Dakota Eck wanders in among the tall trees.
Daniel Olson can taste the three-balls droppin’.
Connor Barton wheels and deals under the ever-watchful eye of the ref.
Caleb Meyer prepares to seize the moment.
One on four? No big deal for Alex Jimenez.
It’s more about surviving than thriving.
Whenever Coupeville Middle School faces off with Stevens, the Wolves find themselves in a deep hole from the start.
Their foe is a fairly ginormous institution which feeds 2A Port Angeles High School (which has a student body four times the size of Coupeville High School).
With a much larger base of students to draw from, Stevens has a decided advantage, and it generally shows on the scoreboard.
Thursday was no different, as Coupeville put up a strong fight in its home finale, but dropped both games.
The Wolf 7th graders stayed within single digits for much of the first half, put together a stellar third quarter, but still fell 63-40.
Meanwhile, across the hall, the CMS 8th graders suffered through a cold-shooting first quarter and never recovered, losing 65-33.
The losses drop the Wolves to 5-4 and 2-7 respectively headed into their final game of the season, a rescheduled road contest at Sequim next Thursday.
Coupeville’s 8th graders fell behind 16-2 after the opening eight minutes and spent the rest of the game playing catch-up.
Jake Mitten poured in 14 of his team-high 16 in the middle two quarters, while Sage Downes knocked down eight points.
Daniel Olson (5) and Dakota Eck (4) rounded out the scoring attack, while Ben Smith and Alex Jimenez also saw floor time.
The Wolf 7th graders got on the board first in their game, with Xavier Murdy pounding home a rebound, and they stayed close in the early going.
Murdy, who was relentless on the boards, knocked down seven points in the early going, capping it with a layup off of a crisp pass from Logan Martin, and CMS was within six at the break, 18-12.
Stevens ability to run in five fresh players at a time began to wear on Coupeville after that, though.
A 12-4 run to end the half sent the Wolves into the locker room trailing by 13, and they were never able to fully recover.
The closest Coupeville got after that was 10, after a gorgeous three-ball from the left side off of Cody Roberts fingertips late in the third quarter.
Stevens blunted the charge, however, taking advantage of crisp passes and quick cuts to ring up a series of buckets in the paint.
Two bright spots for CMS came in the late going, as Connor Barton and Aiden Burdge pulled off sweet moves that left Stevens gobsmacked.
Barton shot up the middle, peeled off three defenders and knocked down a bucket while being hammered, then added the ensuing free throw for three the hard way.
Burdge upped the difficulty factor, charging into the fray and banking a ball high off the glass after getting it off barely over his defender’s outstretched arms.
Coupeville got points from seven of the 12 players to see action, with Caleb Meyer (11), Barton (8) and Murdy (8) leading the way.
Roberts (5), Grady Rickner (4), Martin (2) and Burdge (2) also tallied points, while Hawthorne Wolfe, Logan Wertz, Jonathan Carroll, Gabe Shaw and Tony Garcia also hit the floor.
To see more photos from the game (purchases fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes) pop over to:
http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/20162017-Coupeville-BB/MS-BBB/20170119-vs-Stevens/
